Ever gone to the grocery story intending to buy apples and milk and left with a jar of queso dip, a gallon of ice cream and an enormous bag of Halloween candy? Impulse shopping can wreak havoc on your healthy eating plans, but experts say it may not be entirely your fault.

An editorial published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine blames part of the obesity epidemic on our food environment. Dr. Deborah Cohen and Dr. Susan Babey collaborated to write the article "Candy at the Cash Register - A Risk Factor for Obesity and Chronic Disease."

"The reality is that food choices are often automatic and made without full conscious awareness," the authors write. "In many cases they may even be the opposite of what the person deciding would consciously prefer."

Advertising encourages spur-of-the-moment emotional purchases that are triggered by seeing the product, according to the editorial. The way food is arranged in a grocery store can have a big impact on what consumers buy. A 2009 study showed products placed at the end of the aisle account for 30% of all supermarket sales.

"People lack the capacity to fully control their eye gaze, and what they look at the longest is the strongest predictor of what they will buy," the authors write.

Cohen and Babey propose treating product placement as a risk factor for obesity. Comparing it to safety regulations for a building, they write: "Although people could certainly stay away from the edges of balconies and not lean out of windows, mandatory railings and window guards protect them from falling ... (regulations could) govern the design and placement of foods in retail outlets to protect consumers."

Two points to make. or three.
1. Yes, corporations and companis go to great lengths to try to control us and manipulate us into buying their stuff. They do studies, they do experiments, they take surveys. etc. It's no secret. But it's up to you if you deny that they do this and keep bing suckered.
2. Government regulations spent on this would be a huge waste and just more fodder for political attacks.
3. The general public can form their own watchdog groups and crack down on psychological marketing. If you want it to change – start a company that rates stores on their ethical and moral behaviors toward consumers and the general in public. Promote your "seal of approval" as the "must have" rating. Improve branding in a myriad of ways until your company's seal of approval means something. Could be non-profit. You'd need to get donations – do it all legally.

This article is a load of crud. Life is choices...You have self control or you don't. If you do things or buy things you don't want ....you have a self control problem. Stop scapegoating everyone else for your problems people. Suck it up and take responsibility.

Actually welcome to 2012, it has been proven that you are born gay or straight...you dont choose your sexual orientation. And as for the article there is actually a whole psychology to how you make decisions so this article has some truth to it. Advertising companies use this psychology to their advantage through research and studies. Check facts before you insult people

" ... (regulations could) govern the design and placement of foods in retail outlets to protect consumers." Yes, the government can regulate us into having a perfect life, with low cholesterol, the right exercise, and a proper diet. Each and every regulation takes away another bit of our freedom, reinforces a lack of personal responsibility, and gets us another step closer to the government controlling all aspects of public and personal life. I hope your taxpayer dollars didn't fund this study - dollars that you could have used to buy either carrots or potato chips, your choice for now.

Man you people just don't get it. No we don't need more government control but you don't seem to understand how much your behavior is already controlled by advertising, marketing, and product placement. Lots of dollars are spent finding the best ways to manipulate us out of our $ and to do so with as little awareness of the manipulation as possible. It's science! And the proof of how effective it is is in the register and in your laughable belief that you are in control of your own decisions. "We don't need no government control!" Nah, we like our corporate control just fine and no government is gonna take that away from us! Sad and hilarious.

It's funny that conservatives preach personal responsibility but traditional red states are at the top in terms of percentage of population suffering from obesity. Practice what you preach, and actually take some personal responsibility.

What is the implication here? That grocery stores *purposefully* place unhealthy foods at the prime buying locations? Why on earth would they do that? Surely, they would be just as happy to sell healthy foods...

Unless the profit is much higher on unhealthy foods. Oh... wait. Maybe THAT's what we need to deal with. Subsidies on red meat, sugar, and corn (syrup) as opposed to vegetables make the worst food the most profitable. If the healthy food made grocers more money, you can bet your life they'd be pushing it with every selling technique known to man, and it would probably work.

It ought to make them more money-seems to me all of the "organic" stuff costs more than the regular stuff,and the "low cal" or "diet" stuff is usually more expensive too. Not a big worry of mine though-I exercise every day except Friday,and pretty much eat what I want,but don't go crazy with portions,and so far,I'm the same size I was 20 years ago!

There is absolutely no rational reason for any governing body to control food placement in retail outlets as a "safety precaution" with regard to obesity. RegardLESS of an individual's impulsive purchase (in this case, unhealthy foods on display) it is and ALWAYS should be up to that individual to make wise personal eating decisions. This type of things should NEVER be regulated by or for anyone. EVER.

Totally agree. But then, health insurance companies should be able to prescreen their customers and charge higher rates for those with poor eating habits and/or that fall into high risk groups given their diet. It's totally reasonable to allow someone to eat, smoke, drink (consume) themselves into early morbidity. It's unreasonable for society at large to pay for the monetary cost of such behavior.

Wow you don't get it. Stores place products a certain way to get you to buy a certain (unhealthy way). IF you are saying that it is your responsibility to buy what you want and NOT be manipulated by the store then what is wrong with government regulations on the placement that encourages the sale of healthy food instead?

If you are so mentally strong and personally responsible then you can STILL by what you want. No freedom has been taken from you WHATSOEVER. I'd rather have consensus regulations that we all voted for than corporate greed be the deciding factor. Either way I buy what is on my list (what i need).

I want the store to place everything I want in one area so I don't have to traverse the whole store for the items. I don't impulse buy unless there is some awesome produce available, or a great deal on meat or dairy. I buy very little processed food so that never tempts me (except for canned tomatoes..I will stock up there).

According to this report, you will buy something if it is positioned so that you look at it for a period of time longer than a normal glance; therefor it is not your fault for acting on the impulse, that is byung the item.
If you agree with this nonsense about "its never my fault" then you might want to reconsider prosecuting pedophiles that hang around playgrounds.

The problem lies in the concept of 'fault' and how we use it. The fact that a pedophile is dangerous, and that locking him up will help deter others, should be enough. Tossing in the word 'fault' just muddies the waters.

I am a huge fan of Sanjay BUT, the premise of this let's people off the hook for personal responsibility. I hit the gym 7 times a week NOT because I truly want to, I eat no desserts and it's not that I don't want them.... temptations will always be here, it's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Sanjay...... this is silly, there is no "Candy Monster" that reaches out and grabs us.

Ok, so you are under control, you lead a good lifestyle and I am proud of you. But looking at people's girth around me, I would think you are the exception. Of course it is their responsibilty to live healthy, but do they know what living healthy is?
Recently, while waiting outside of a grocery store, I watched obese people leaving with carts full of Coke, Captain Crunch, Wonderbread, Cheetos, Mac-N-Cheese, etc. Not one vegetable. Not just one, but dozens of obese people walking out with similarly stocked carts. Are ALL these people deliberately fattening themselves with sugar and carbs?, or do they just not know any better?
Iit is a culture Americans have created for themselves, assisted by the FDA and the food industry. It is in America's best interest to reverse it otherwise it will cost us more in the future than it does now. If it has to be done by regulation, then so be it.

" Are ALL these people deliberately fattening themselves with sugar and carbs?, or do they just not know any better?"
Here's another option-they Just. Don't. Care. It's just a non-issue to some people. They don't care if they are sloppy,or look like extras from that Honey Boo-Boo show. Me,I agree with Bob in that,no one is forcing a Twinkie in my mouth,nor is someone stopping me from jogging a few miles a day or lifting weights. If I want to do those things,I can (and I do,though there are some days...!) I used to see guys on the beach with the huge moobs and think "I would wear a T-shirt ALL the time if I looked like that!" But it isn't important to some people,so if they're not going to worry about their health,why should I?

Well then, if there is no candy monster grabbing you, and the Govt puts regulations in that make stores locate healthy food in the impulse buying areas then guess what.... there will be no VEGGIE MONSTER reaching out to grab you either... so why do you care? If it helps those with low impulse control buy healther and lower our nation's health care bill then fine. Doesn't hurt those of us who have imulse control one iota does it? We can still buy waht we want......

Another way we're often tricked into needless spending is the way the store is laid out. Have you ever noticed that most grocery stores put essentials (milk, bread, etc.) way at the back of the store? That's no mistake. When you need those items you have to pass by all the other tantalizing, unnecessary products that they want you to buy. It's hard to resist. This concept is called Choice Architecture and I've written more about it here http://blog.impulsesave.com/how-companies-get-you-to-spend-choice-architecture

John from ImpulseSave-This is exactly what the article is about-Choice Architecture.I have heard of subliminal advertising(made illegal) and I knew that merchandising manipulation existed but I have not heard it termed Choice Architecture.Sounds like they just made subliminal advertising more PC and therefore within the law.It has the same effects none the less.Removes our conscious ability to make a choice.Knowledge about this situation is our only weapon.Seek knowledge-read -be aware.

Whenever I feel the impulse to buy some vicious little processed product in a box or a can, I imagine an underpaid mixer lugging sacks over a hopper and wiping sweat off his face and snot out of his overwhelmed nose, flicking them both in with the contents of the mixer. I then think of the owners of the company, mentally give them the one-fingered salute and move on.

Yes, Jorge, and you can feel just as smug about the "non-processed" foods you buy that were sweated on by an underpaid migrant worker so you can spend premium dollars at Whole Foods. Oh, and the bottled juice or milk that is "organic", even though it was packaged in a plant, too. Get over yourself.

I admit I'm an impulse buyer, I do it every time I go to the store and I'm consciously aware of it. I even joke about it.
Just yesterday I went to the store for some stir fry veggies...and then I saw a beautiful looking Danish squash. I had to have it! In turn I impulse bought a few more items to complete a dish. All of said items were healthy.

There was a point when a box of novelty ice cream bars started staring me down. I really, really wanted them, but I looked at the nutritional info and decided it definitely wasn't worth it so I put it back on the shelf and continued to the check out without any sort of dessert item.
Impulse buying doesn't have to ruin a healthy diet. I love and respect my body, so even if I impulse buy something I always take a second to check out the nutritional info and decide if it's really worth it.

The people who have already responded with their strategies for overcoming impulsive purchases of unhealthy items should be proud of their accomplishments. They have executed their own behavioral modification therapy. Other people need some coaching to get to that point. I wish we were all as aware of and as able to turn off our self-destructive impulses, but we aren't.

I agree with all of the comments about corporate profits being the driver for manipulating consumers. I agree with all of the comments about the fact that we all pay for poor health decisions - our own and everyone else's. If the people who think that everybody should be personally responsible, would agree that some people need help I would take that as a step in the direction of actually solving the problem without jeopardizing anybody's freedom. Then perhaps we could discuss having life coaches or therapists available in major supermarkets to teach people how to recognize and reverse their negative impulses.

I find it absolutely ridiculous (and rather disgusting) that we're constantly providing ourselves with more and more avenues in which to completely dodge responsibility and accountability for our actions and the choices that we make.

Marketing and product placement or not, we still make the CHOICE to place those items in our cart/basket before pulling out our cards/cash and paying for those items. When we get home, we make the CHOICE to put it on the stove, in the oven, or in the microwave and then into our mouths. The entire process is nothing short of a string of CHOICES that we CHOOSE to make and we are the ONLY one's accountable and responsible for those choices.

I agree we shouldn't "completely dodge responsibility and accountability" for our actions, but you're wrong if you think it's "a string of CHOICES that we CHOOSE to make and we are the ONLY one's accountable and responsible for those choices." There are psychological studies that show that external influences on our choices can sometimes completely change our opinions about them. For example, if you were on the fence about buying a Honda or a Ford and someone said, "Didn't your mother die in a car accident in a Honda?" that might put enough emotional distaste in your mind that you would have trouble rationally making a decision. This is especially true of short-term decision making. And guess who hires armies of psychologists to figure out how to best alter your thinking about products?

Yes, ultimately we're responsible. I write a shopping list before I got to the store to keep myself from picking up a lot of unneeded items. I check my credit card balance online every few days as a brake on my spending make sure I won't have an unpleasant surprise when I pay it off in full each month.

But you can't stop the stadium from a multi-colored display ad about buying Papa Johns Pizza at a lower price just after your team scored a TD and you're on your feet in an ecstatic emotional mood that the advertisers know will have a psychological effect if they associate your team's TD with their product.

A choice is a conscious decision made when as much information possible about the choices is known.The problem described in the article is the manipulation tactics used by business to subconsciously influence the choices made by the consumer.Knowledge that these marketing tactis are used allows us to make the correct choice.Understanding this is the first step-A choice made with no manipulation is when individual responsibility for that choice can kick in.The article is not really about obesity but the manipulation of your pocketbook-A holiday ornament, a candle, a magazine-how many times have you or I bought these items when going for milk or eggs?I don't anymore-awareness gives us our choice.

It doesn't even take my analytical skills as a scientist to see that my grocery cart is fuller when I shop while hungry. There are a couple of unusual, ethnic frozen dinners sitting for months in the back of my freezer as cold testimonies to that fact. I generally try grocery shopping at Costco first. Buy the time I'm done trying samples, I don't need my next meal!

Face it. Humans were deisgned to survive famine. The original "program" does not account for the continued abundance we have. In times of abundance, we are programmed to eat and store fat to survive the next famine.

Many years ago when subliminal advertising was brought to public knowledge it was made illegal-Subliminal advertising is a message hidden within a photo that the conscious mind does not register but the subconscious recieves a message-to buy certain brand etc.It is quite sinister as it aims to remove your freedom of choice and free will.Doubtful that product placement in businesses can ever be regulated,it is up to society to make these merchandising tactics known-Read, seek out information be aware that theses tactics exist.Know that when you enter a grocery store its' aim is to get you to buy as much as possible-Your aim should be only to buy what you came for and need-make a list stick to it-Think twice about what you place in your cart-Look in your cart before going to checkout and return to shelf anything not neccessary-You'll be surprised how rewarding it feels-to take charge.

This was a total filler story. I was expecting them to get down to the nitty and gritty yet this story really was to short and seemed to only tell things that even the average human being already knew. I wish the author had have put more quality in to their work.

It is not that the obese people don't care, but that most of them don't know how to eat healthy food. If it taste good, they eat it. Their children eat it and that is all there is too it. If they are cooked a healthy dinner, most of them and their kids will not eat it. They will only eat what they have been conditioned into thinking taste good. School lunches used to be healthy back in the 60's but most kids hated them. It all starts with eating healthy at home. Kids learn from their parents. I have some nieces and nephews who will not eat fish, corn, corn bread, green beans or carrots. They will eat mashed potatoes and fat meat though. Remember, the fat meat is cheaper at the grocery store than the extra lean. Regardless of placement in the grocery store, these people will seek out the most unhealthy food items because of price and taste.

It's a form of brain washing, mind control and it's sanctioned by the government, business and people who think they are immune to it. If you think your WILL POWER is so powerful it can overcome your biology and external forces that can manipulate it without your knowledge, then please come see me about some ocean front property in the Iowa. First off the Government is the arm of the people and our way to protect ourselves from enemies both foreign and domestic. If Russia or China were the ones doing it to us the people like Bolts who posted here first would be outraged that the Government is letting them do it, but for him and others like him it's OK if an American business manipulates us for their economic success. I can't be the only one who has issue with that. I'm not a lab rat and neither should any of us be. Our federal government isn't an enemy, it's our voices collectively setting rules and policies to protect ourselves from outsiders and each other. You are my friend until you become my enemy, and there isn't a guarantee that because you're an American they you won't become my enemy, only that our voices together as the Federal Government will protect me from my enemies both foreign and domestic. If you are trying to control my mind then you have attacked the security of my person and made yourself my enemy. This means that the Federal Government's mandate to protect me from enemies both foreign and domestic is in play and therefore it is the responsibility of the people via the Federal Government to move to protect me from a declared or undeclared enemy. So if you don't like government regulations, perhaps you should be more trust worthy and stop cheating people with covert psychological manipulation and hiding behind your liberty and honor the liberty of those who want to be free from your manipulations. .

I may crave ice cream when I see it but I still have the will power to put it back. If I feel like I can't live without it, I swap it with a healthier option. Low calorie, organic Greek yogurt bars aren't as tempting so I usually leave with nothing or I get the yogurt. If people want to be fat, let them be fat. Once they're adults though I think there should be some health insurance implications like they have with smokers. Those of us who live healthy on a low fat organic plant based diet should receive some health insurance perks (incentives for the obese). We know obesity is not good for our health as we know smoking is not good, yet I still see my step-daughter's mother cramming her full of McDonalds. It's abuse, in my eyes.

If it's not our fault then the government should pass a law against it. After all it's the government's job to protect us. Look how they saved lives in New York by banning soft drinks in 32 ounce cups. It's first class work like this that we've come to expect. And people that make too many impulse buys should qualify for disability, welfare and an EBT card along with an Obama phone. It's only fair.

With all the options and information out in the mainstream, it is ludicrious for any neurotypical adult to claim that Cap'n Crunch is the healthiest option for breakfast, or fast food burgers and fries are the healthiest option for lunch. People DO know better, but choose not to act on this knowledge either because they fear being left out (their family and friends all eat unhealthy diets), or that dieting makes you miserable, so why bother?

What advertisers have done masterfully over the decades is to create a culture of "treats." Had a bad day? You deserve a quick, calorie-laden meal from your favorite fast food place. Kids making you crazy? You deserve a blended coffee drink with more calories than a milkshake. And over time, we internalize it so the only trigger you need is feeling that you "deserve" a treat. That everyday llife is hard, so we deserve treats all the time for just surviving. Treats should be rare, but we have allowed ourselves to make everyday worthy of multiple treats.

The best advice I have heard recently: "Food is not entertainment." If it doesn't contain something your body can process and use, it's not worth eating, and is forgettable. Kids should eat their vegetables even if they taste "yucky," and so should the adults. Every meal doesn't have to be delicious and memorable, no matter what the advertisers want us to believe.

I suppose this is why my local Trader Joe's (not all the stores do this) places the yummy and so unhealthy baked goods just inside the entryway. You can't avoid going past them. You practically trip over them. Generally, though, I don't fall for impulse buying when it comes to food items. (Other items... yes, I am weak). When purchasing food I always have a written or mental list, which I stick to. If I buy sweets it's because I intended to buy sweets.

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